Political Economy of Education in South Asia

John Richards is an economist and a professor in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University, and a scholar-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute.Manzoor Ahmed is professor emeritus at BRAC University, Chair of Bangladesh Early Childhood Development Network (BEN). and Vice Chair of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE).Shahidul Islam served as Senior Education Advisor to USAID and is currently a consultant on education reform projects in South Asia.Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was the founder of BRAC, one of the world's largest non-governmental organizations.

• ForewordPrefacePart One: Diagnostics: Chronic Quality Deficit in South Asia’s Basic EducationIntroduction to Part One1. Growth, Wellbeing and Basic Education2. From "Education for All" to SDG43. Primary School Performance in Reading and Mathematics4. Why Low Quality Persists in South Asia’s School Systems5. The Sri Lanka Exception and Its Stubborn ChallengesPart Two: Teachers: The Pivot of Educational ChangeIntroduction to Part Two6. The Education Workforce – Numbers and More7. Who should be teachers – Features of a High-Quality Education Workforce8. How teachers can be professionals – Preparing and Orienting the Education Workforce9. Governance and Management of the Education Workforce10. Ethics and Values Education and TeachersPart Three: The Political Economy of Educational ChangeIntroduction to Part Three11. Private Schools and Public Good12. Toward a New Education Governance Paradigm13. Political Economy of Education – Leveraging Change